This invention relates to a hinge and roller support device for a sectional door.
In the assembly of a sectional door, the door sections are connected together by vertically positioned hinge plates spaced along the side edge portions thereof. Since the door slides along spaced tracks mounted on the building, it is conventional to mount a roller on each hinge plate to connect the track and door sections.
Now the rising leg of each track is slightly inclined away from the door jamb. Therefore it is necessary that the rollers of successive hinge assemblies be spaced further and further away from the attached hinge plates, so that the door sections adopt a vertical position when closing the door opening.
Heretofore the hinge and roller support devices used in industry have tended to be of two types. One type can be said to have a fixed bearing for receiving the roller and the other has a bearing whose position relative to the hinge plates can be adjusted. Both types comprise a pair of plates hinged together end to end.
In the case of the first type, a pair of spaced, upstanding, apertured ears extend outwardly from the side edges of one of the hinge plates. A horizontal tube extends through the apertures and is fixed to the ears to provide a stationary bearing for the roller shaft. A shortcoming of this type of device is that each of the required units at the section junctures are different -- each must have its tube spaced outwardly from the plates a different distance when compared to its neighbors. Therefore it is necessary to keep in stock a different unit for each section junction of the door to be installed.
To overcome this difficulty, an adjustable device has been marketed which involves forming one of the vertical hinge plates to provide an outwardly extending bracket having a transverse, horizontal wall. Outwardly directed parallel slots are provided in this horizontal wall. A separate bearing member is then slidably mounted on the bracket. Bolts are inserted through the slots and apertures and nuts are threaded thereon to clamp the tongue portion of the bearing member to the bracket wall at the desired location.
This unit also has shortcomings. More particularly, it is expensive to construct and is difficult to install, as the nuts and bolts have to be tightened from above and below under cramped conditions.